Foxy Patterns' Bria Dress: It's a Real Green Dress!

I recently tested a dress pattern, the Bria by Foxy Patterns. I haven't done any testing for a long time but this was an interesting design so I signed up. It was an interesting process, and Foxy Patterns made some changes in response to tester feedback - and the pattern is now live if you like it too, and want to try making it now! 

This was my tester dress - I only have to redo the neckline a little, as it gapes a bit in the front. This was an issue that she has fixed in the final pattern. I made the dress version with the short, tulip sleeve option. I also made it with the slit, but closed that up once the test process was done. I have short legs, and didn't feel like the slit really looked or felt great on me. 

I really love how it went together. It was easy, with some nice details (optional front slit, sleeve options, top view with side zip, etc) that could make it a pattern that you could get a few different looks from. I found the instructions pretty clear, and the steps quite logical. 

I used a rayon from my stash, which I picked up at a thrift store a while back. There was just enough of it for this project, and the drapy nature of the fabric works very well with this design. I will have to wear a slip, though, as the fabric is a bit see-through in the skirt, but lining it would have added too much weight - and also, I was trying to follow the pattern closely since it was a test make, so didn't want to add in anything besides basic fit adjustments (mostly shortening the bodice & skirt, as usual for me). I may also go back in and add some pockets, I haven't quite decided yet! 

In any case, this pattern is now available and I may make another with a few more personal taste changes if I do. I really like the fit and the sleeves are a great look, in my opinion. 

Dark Floral Bow Blouse for Spring

This blouse, New Look 6476 from the 1980s, departs from the solid colours in my Sudoku plan that I've made so far. It picks up the blue and black, and adds a sprinkling of other bright colours. 

I thrifted this pattern and loved the blouse, so thought I'd give it a go now. I had this floral rayon in the stash from at least a year ago and it was perfect. 

It's a quick pattern - the only fussy bits are getting the tie on without stretching out the neckline in this shifty rayon. It's a little fiddly getting that tie on, what with keeping part of it free so that you can handstitch it down to cover the collar seam afterward, and also having to pin the front facing over the basted collar -- I was cursing my choice of rayon challis there for a bit! But it turned out so beautifully once it was finally done and pressed. 

There are just four pattern pieces: front, back, tie and facing. And no interfacing called for. The hems are simple 5/8" turned under hems. This is an interesting variation on the pussy bow blouse, though, since the tie is not at all a bow. It is wide and short, and simply gets looped over itself in a loose half knot. I like the way it drapes, and while I thought the V-neck was going to be a little too low for my liking, it actually works perfectly once the tie is adjusted, since that covers another inch of the neckline. 

I cut 14 at the shoulders and 16 for the rest, giving a little excess at the hipline when I cut it out. I think it worked well, and this will match with a lot in my wardrobe. It's cheerful, comfortable and easy wearing. Just right for me, and a perfect summer weight. I'm glad I finally tried this one. 

Agustina Boxy Top in X-Rayon

I made a little tester project this week! I wanted to see how this Agustina boxy top (by Fabrics-Store) fit, since I'm thinking incorporating some fabric/art techniques into a boxy top project -- I have a couple of choices which I've made before, but wanted to test this one as well.

Fortunately for me, I also got this fun fabric (is it bamboo or x-rays?) at my Garment Guild meetup to test it out! This is a heavier weight rayon and there was enough to cut this out comfortably. 

I made a M/L, and added 1.5" to the length. I made a narrow hem on the bottom so if I wanted a deeper one I'd add a bit more length. 

I like the way this fits, not too boxy and the shoulder and arm area is a good fit. The neck band is sewn using my favourite technique, one I learned with the Sorbetto long ago. The instructions have links to blog tutorials for this step, which would be handy if someone hasn't done this technique before. 

I also like the detail of the sleeve cuff, I think it adds something a little extra to this simple pattern. This only took me a few hours to cut and sew, and I am pleased with it. I may use this pattern again. 

Burda Blouse: Black & White & Red all over

I tried out a Burda pattern for a simple top that I've been meaning to make for quite a long time! It's Burda 112-01-2020, the cover image for that issue (and I've wanted to make it since then). I found a fun black & white print rayon at the thrift a while back, so thought I would try it out first in this fabric to see if I liked the pattern enough to make it again in a rich purple fabric that I was hesitant to cut up for an unknown pattern! 

I made a few little changes to this straightforward pattern. The back is cut in two pieces, with a neckline opening at the back to get it over your head. I tested the facing and determined that I would need that slit but didn't want to cut the back in two pieces, because of this regular print. So I cut the back on a fold, and changed the back facing to a deep one and just made a slit by sewing it in. I used a small elastic loop and sewed that in as I was going, since I dislike thread loops for a button, I never seem to get them the right size. This seemed to work well. 

I also narrowed the front and back centre with a 1/2" wedge at the neckline, and shorted the top half of the sleeve by one inch. I had to also shorten the bottom, full part of the sleeve by an inch because I was out of fabric! But it worked for my short arms. 

Other than the neckline change and the inherent shiftiness of this fabric, this was a pretty quick and easy project. The bottom part of the sleeve has a pleat where it attaches to the top half, and this was the most difficult thing of the whole project. The fabric kept wanting to shift, so I didn't get a perfect match, there is a small gap where it should meet, but it's not really noticeable in this print, especially with the fullness. And I didn't want to work over this fabric too much, it's quite delicate. So I left it as it was. 

Otherwise, I enjoyed this one and I like the fit of it. I think I would adjust the sleeves a little more -- shorten the top bit just a little more, and make sure I add back that inch to the bottom of the sleeve on my next go. It's a flowy shape and I think it works well in this fabric. 

Upcycling to Reuse a pretty Rayon!

 

I made a couple of items in August, and cleaned my sewing room a bit. But I really did take a bit of a break! So here is the first thing I made last month. PatternReview was having an upcycling contest, and I had lots of ideas for complicated projects that would be really cool... but what I really needed was a light summer top. 

And, I had this old McCalls 7115 dress that I made way back in 2016 -- never wore it, but saved it because the fabric was so lovely, and had good memories attached. I bought this at my first PatternReview weekend in Chicago, and so really wanted to reuse it. I thought that I'd waited long enough so I found a top pattern in the stash that would fit onto the odd shaped pieces of the unpicked dress and just went for it. 

I chose Simplicity 2147, an easy pattern that I've had in the stash for a long time. It's a yoked top, which means I could fit it onto my fabric. It also has a nice pleat detail at the yoke, even if it's kind of hidden in this print. It does make the fit quite nice, though. 

I laid out the pleated part of the top on my remnant skirt & both front and back fit widthwise -- I just made the top the length of that original skirt & used the existing hem. It's a bit shorter than the "tunic or minidress" description of the pattern, but as I am also quite short, it's not that different! 

I cut the yoke from the dress bodice & so had to incorporate the button placket from the dress into the front yoke. After I finished I decided to stitch on 2 buttons from the dress to give it a little extra touch. They are nonfunctional.

So while I didn't get around to a complicated upcycle, I am very pleased with this one. It was great to finally reuse this dress, and I have worn this top three times since I finished it. It's light and comfortable, and I feel pleased that I finally made something from the disappointing dress. There are a couple of other items in my stash which could probably use the same treatment. Maybe I'll upcycle something else soon! 

Hinterland #1

Well I made up my first Hinterland Dress, after much pattern fiddling & two muslins (two more than I usually do!) I had to make a lot of changes to this one for a variety of reasons. 

First I had to make a small bust adjustment, as this pattern is designed for a C cup. This was the first time I've actually gone to the trouble to do it, and I'm glad I did, it really worked out. Because of the size differential, this adjustment actually got rid of the bust dart entirely. 

I also added a 1/4" neckline dart (something I often do) and then had to take in a 1" dart on each back shoulder. It was a lot! But the back neckline still wasn't sitting quite right, so after reading a bunch of online reviews both on IG and in the blog world, I adjusted the shoulder slope. When I change the shoulder in a pattern, it's usually to take up the outer edge of (usually) just the right shoulder. But here I took 1/2" up from the NECK edge, tapering out to nothing by the shoulder seam. This was unusual for me, but it really worked. After that the bodice seemed to fit quite well. And so I went ahead with a wearable muslin! 

The changes I made to this particular dress were to lengthen the pocket bag so that I could anchor it into the waist seam - that reduces floppiness, which is great. I used an old rayon from my stash that I'm not overly attached to, so that I wouldn't balk at making mistakes! 

There are still a couple of things I would like to adjust with this pattern. First, the front neckline does gape a bit -- I hope I didn't stretch it out (staystitched it right after cutting but...) but thinking it might need to be adjusted by another 1/4" dart. I often have to take up to 1/2" out of the centre front so this doesn't surprise me terribly. 

The other change is that the waistline, after all my adjustments, is too hi-low for my tastes. I like the height of the front waistline, but then it dips down quite a bit to the side seams and across the back, and I'm not fond of that. I am going to straighten out the waistline to the length of the front bodice all around, and then make another to see if all these adjustments do the trick.

I don't usually spend so much time on fitting a simple dress like this. However, I bought the Creative Hinterland design course, so want to get the fit perfect so that I can begin on the design options and know any issues I'm having are from my redrafting and not the original I've begun on ! 

In any case, this is quite a wearable, light summer dress and I'm sure I will get some use out of it. It was a challenge but I'm happy I followed through on it. 

"Vintage" 90s Sarong Dress in Rayon

My Spring project for Fabricville has arrived! I was excited about this one -- this "vintage" 90s McCalls 8501 was so appealing, and then I found the perfect fabric option. This is a beautiful rayon-nylon blend, in my favourite blue and yellow colourway. 

As part of being a Fabricville blogger, I can choose a pattern and fabric and only have to share it on their blog. But you know I'm going to tell you about it too! 

This is called a "3 Hour Pattern". I find that was a thing I saw often on patterns from the 80s & 90s -- overpromising to get people to buy a pattern ;) That's 3 hours of sewing time, not the careful cutting part. And probably only 3 hours if you're a quick sewist, as I am not. 

But it wasn't too complicated. A front, back and overlay, plus a little tie piece and a neck binding. I of course overcomplicated things by trying to add pockets! But I can't imagine a summer dress without any. It was a bit fiddly to figure out where to attach the pocket bags, somehow that overlay confused me a bit. But it was worth the time.

This fabric is 90% rayon, 10% nylon, and that makes the hand a little different; it's not a challis, it's easier to handle than that. And I really like the way it drapes, too. The front has an overlay that is sewn into the side seam and then ties at the side with another little tie that you sew into the opposite side. Quite secure. 

The changes I made to the pattern:

• Shortened the body above the waist by 3/4"
• Lengthened the bottom hem by 1" (a bit tricky with those curves)
• Added side seam pockets

Isn't it strange to call something from the 90s vintage? I don't feel like it was that long ago. Maybe if you lived through the era, it's not vintage to you! In any case, this is a light summer dress that I know I'll wear this year, vintage or not :)

The Last of the Summer Roses: an 80s pattern

While I was taking a blog break, I did a bit of sewing. Not a huge amount, but I made a couple of summer dresses to add to my closet. The first one was this 1987 McCalls 3220, a pattern I thrifted a while back. 

The very trim dress is hiding on the pattern cover, you only see past the boxy dull jacket when you look at the line drawings. This kind of simple silhouette is one of my faves, especially the cut on drop sleeve, so I grabbed some rayon from the stash to try it out. I've had this fabric for a few years but heard that roses were in fashion again this summer so thought I'd better use it ;) 

This was quite an easy make. I had to make a few length adjustments, and I cut it at 14/16/18 like usual, which gives me most of the circumference adjustments that I need. The bodice and skirt are cut separately and an elastic casing added at the waistline. There is a back slit at the neckine but I find I can pull this over my head if I'm careful so may leave it off next time and just lower the neckline slightly. 

There are pockets, of course! This fabric is so soft and lovely to wear, and I really like the way it fits. It doesn't pull in any part of the dress, and yet covers the underarm area well so there is no bra flashing.

I like this length, and may just have to make this one again with more old rayon in the stash. It works well under a jacket as well, although a few wrinkles may appear at the shoulder. Even though I'm not as keen on florals as I used to be, the strong colours and larger print do it for me here. 

Anyhow, very pleased with this one. I really do love 80s patterns! And I finally got to take some pictures at a location I've been meaning to use for a while, the entrance to Upper Queen's park, near the theatre, where some old cast iron dogs were installed many, many years ago. They used to grace the entrance to a grand home belonging to a local doctor - you can find the story on the fascinating StreetsOfStratford.ca if you're interested in that kind of thing!